Improvement in barbed fence-wire



W. WATKINS.

BARBED FENCE-WIRE.

No.184,486, Patented Nov. 21, 1876.

' That mode UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIGE.

WILLIAM WATKINS, OF JOLIE'T, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN BARB ED FENCE-WIRE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 184,486, dated November 21, 1876; application filed I October 19, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM WATKINS, of the city of Joliet, in Will county, and State of Illinois, have invented certain Improvements in Barb-Fence, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this s peeification, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a section of the wire cable, havinga barb intertwined and Figs. 2 and 3, plan views on the top of the barbs, separate from the wire cable.

My invention relates more particularly to that class of barb-fences, or barbed cables for fences,in which aflat metal strip having barbs ateither end is twisted, at short intervals, in between strands of wire, and arranged to point in all directions.

In the drawings, 0 0 represent a couple of ordinary fence-wires, having the fiat metal barb A intertwined between them, as shown particularly in-Fig. 1. The barb used in Fig. l is of the shape shown in Fig. 3, being a thin metal strip of any desired length, width, and thickness suitable for the purpose, although the barb may be of the shape shown at Fig.2.

The principal thing I claim to have invented is this: Heretofore the flat metal barb A has been put through between the wires 0 crosswise, and then the points bent out from each other, so the barb could not drop out. of putting in-the barbs is found to be quite unsatisfactory, because the barbs are loose, and do not adjust themselves to the twist of the wires. To overcome that partic ular difficulty I put the barb A in between the strands c of the cable laterally or lengthwise, after they have been bent in the shape shown in Fig.1, by means of which the barb assumes the exact twist given to the strands c of the cable, so that the barb A becomes immovable in any direction, and also presents four points in as many directions.

I do not claim to have invented the barb A as it is before it is intertwined spirally be tween the two strands 0 of the cable, as they have been used that way before without the twist in the body of the barb, but putin crosswise, as before stated.

By the points of the barb A being turned out at right angles, or nearly so, with each other, they form a crotch, in which the cable lies, which assists very materially in holding the barbs in place, by reason of the barb A being placed between the strands of the cable 0 laterally, as shown in Fig. 1, which is not the case where the barb is put in crosswise.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows, to wit:

The flat barb A, spirally twisted lengthwise, and placed laterally between the strands of the cable 0, and having its points turned out, as shown, forming a crotch to hold the cable, all arranged as and for the purpose set forth.

WILLIAM WATKINS.

Witnesses:

Tnos. H. HUTGHINS, WM. J. HUTcnINs. 

